Aladdin

Nobody really knows where the Aladdin tale comes from; it' probably the one tale in "One Thousand and One Arabian Nights" that didn't come from Arabic folk tales. Translators say it may have been invented by Antoine Galland, a Frenchman, in 1704. Galland may have made it sound Arabic and added it to "One Thousand and One Nights," which he translated from Arabic folklore.English translations often said "Long ago in China" to start a story, and people assumed it was Chinese. But this was a common way for many Europeans in the 1700s to refer to anyplace far away.

In its presentation of "Aladdin," Ballet Theatre of Maryland has again shown that stories gain enchantment when told through dance. Artistic director Dianna Cuatto and her dancers found large, enthusiastic audiences in three inspired performances last weekend. The "Aladdin" story drew excitement and exoticism from the dancers in costumes designed by Alyssa Johnson performing against sets designed by Cuatto and built by Brian Walker, Calder Taylor, Meagan Helman and other dancers.

The Musical Theatre Machine, which produced its first non-musical earlier this season, now has branched out in yet another direction. The company has staged a charming production of its first children's musical, "Aladdin," which is playing a two-weekend run at the Merrick Barn on the Homewood campus of Johns Hopkins University.Created by Jim Eiler and Jeanne Bargy as a television special in the 1970s, this "Aladdin" is as simple as the 1992 Disney animation is slick. But the direction and choreography by Todd Pearthree make that simplicity a virtue.

Ballet Theatre of Maryland will open its 33rd season with a take on "Aladdin," which features an impressive blend of contemporary storytelling, classic accompaniment, strong choreography and well-executed dance. BTM has moved into a spacious new facility this year, complete with a large lobby and office space, plus two sprung-floor studios with elevated ceilings, to accommodate ballet lifts along with the more utilitarian necessities of locker rooms and showers for the dancers.

If your children really loved "Aladdin" and if you're really tired of repeat trips to the neighborhood movie house, you might curb their appetites for the animated Arabian romance by buying toy figures of the characters.Don't be surprised, though, if the action figures aren't exact replicas of Princess Jasmine, Abu, Iago, Jafar and Aladdin -- the protagonist hailed by Newsweek as Disney's "first nonwhite human hero since Mowgli of the 'Jungle Book.' "Margaret Freeman of Dallas, who is white, makes a point of buying ethnically diverse books and toys for her nephew, Travis.

After school, children play in the streets of Aladdin Village Mobile Home Park near Jessup as they have for decades. But their shouts and laughter belie a quiet tension gripping many of the families living there. By summer, residents expect to get a letter that many of them dread, giving them the state-required, one-year notice that the 241-lot park will close for redevelopment and that they must move or lose their homes. With land values in Howard County soaring, park owners are looking toward more lucrative redevelopment, which is what county officials want along U.S. 1. But that also means the loss of the kind of traditional affordable housing that mobile homes represent.

"Aladdin" conjures up a story Scheherazade wouldn't have thought up in 2,002 Arabian nights. For how could even the world's greatest storyteller have imagined a Robin Williams?Is this a man or a spirit or a deeply dysfunctional human being? Like, maybe he is a genie. That certainly would explain the endless torrentof personality that seems to gush through his presence, on screen or off, the literally unbelievable way in which he takes up and puts down new voices, rhythms and world views within the confines of a single sentence or two.Thus the big news in "Aladdin" is all Robin Williams.

Given that Disney Cruise Line can plumb a seemingly bottomless treasure-trove of ingenuity, one could hardly be surprised at the line's ability to pull rabbits out of hats or, in this case, genies out of bottles. A colorful new program called Aladdin's Fun Adventures marks the latest magical lure for 3- and 4-year-old children aboard Disney's ships. The hourlong amusement -- which is themed after the popular animated feature Aladdin -- will engage your child's imagination with flying carpets, magic lamps and genies.

Residents of the Aladdin Village mobile home park in Elkridge have learned, to the chagrin of many, that the future of the approximately 40-acre property probably will not include mobile homes. The Carlyle Group, which manages Aladdin Village and owns an equity interest in it, has applied through Howard County's comprehensive rezoning process for a change to allow offices, retail space, restaurants and apartments. "All we're doing is fitting in with the long-term plans of Howard County," said Carlyle President Ronald Singer.

Residents of the Aladdin Village mobile home park in Elkridge have learned, to the chagrin of many, that the future of the approximately 40-acre property probably will not include mobile homes. The Carlyle Group, which manages Aladdin Village and owns an equity interest in it, has applied through Howard County's comprehensive rezoning process for a change to allow offices, retail space, restaurants and apartments. "All we're doing is fitting in with the long-term plans of Howard County," said Carlyle President Ronald Singer.

With "Prince of Persia," producer Jerry Bruckheimer must be hoping that he can once again bring back a lost world of movie fantasy. Will it do for Arabian Nights adventures what "Pirates of the Caribbean" did for pirate movies? It's based on a video game, not a theme-park ride, but it follows the same formula: Boil down a genre's main ingredients and mix them with a newfangled star, in this case Jake Gyllenhaal, not Johnny Depp. Arabian Nights movies have always been filled with scrappy gutter waifs, scheming royal advisers, heroic or ignoble princes and princesses, daft or deadly monarchs, and otherworldly demons, as well as concepts like "the Sands of Time."

Owners of SafeNet Inc. to buy Aladdin Knowledge The owners of Belcamp-based SafeNet Inc., the information security company, said they will acquire Israeli firm Aladdin Knowledge Systems in a $160 million deal. Vector Capital, the equity firm that took SafeNet private in 2007, has offered to pay $11.50 a share for Aladdin, which specializes in authentication, software rights management and content security. SafeNet employs 1,200 people, including more than 200 in Maryland. Aladdin, which has its headquarters in Tel Aviv, has 400 employees, most of them in Germany and Israel.

BEIJING - Dara Torres was born on April 15, 1967, two weeks before a blessed event was held in Las Vegas at the Aladdin Hotel, the wedding of singer Elvis Presley and his bride, Priscilla. Dara's father, Eddie Torres, bought the Aladdin (in a partnership with Wayne Newton) 13 years later. By then, his daughter the swim prodigy was a fixture in the expensive pools of Beverly Hills, including the one in the Torres family's sprawling 10-bath home there. He meant a great deal to Dara way back then.

Amid empty, aged mobile homes interspersed with vacant concrete pads, the remaining residents of the Aladdin Mobile Home Park in Jessup are nervously preparing for an uncertain future. "There's a lot of empty ones now," said Mary Spindle, 72, who said she moved to Aladdin nearly five years ago when her former mobile home park closed in Gaithersburg, only to learn a month later that her new home was slated to close, too. Now, as more people leave, she said, children sometimes throw rocks at seemingly empty units, and homeless squatters occasionally move in. "I've been anxious for a couple of years," the former union secretary said about the park's closing.

New zoning displacing trailer park residents The roughly 180 families living in the Aladdin Village Mobile Home Park in Elkridge must move within one year -- another step in the redevelopment of the U.S. 1 corridor. Aladdin, with capacity for 241 families, is the latest and largest example of how rising land values and large-scale rezoning by Howard County is prompting major changes along the old industrial corridor. It is a change county officials welcome, but the price is high -- the loss of hundreds of affordable homes for lower- and moderate-income people.

The first hurdle has been cleared to constructing a multimillion-dollar residential, office and retail compound along U.S. 1 in Jessup. The project will include about 250,000 square feet of commercial use, about 1,000 housing units and a site for a hotel. Construction of the first phase, which will include 50 homes, is expected to begin in about a year. Completion of the entire development will take between five and seven years. The property will be at the site of the 244-space Aladdin Village Mobile Home Park on U.S. 1, about 500 feet from the Route 175 intersection.

By Karen Nitkin and Karen Nitkin,SPECIAL TO THE SUN | October 21, 2004

Aladdin's Cafe started out as a pizza and sub shop, then became a pizza, sub and Lebanese food place, and now serves only Lebanese food. Any restaurant is to be commended for focusing on what it does best. As owner Nader Abushkhei noted, many Locust Point restaurants serve pizza, but Lebanese food is still unusual, even in this rapidly gentrifying area. However, it would be nice if the menu reflected its new focus. The carryout and sit-down menus still list all the subs and pizzas that are no longer being served, as well as deli standards such as fries, chicken wings and onion rings.

"I read Disney's 'Aladdin' and he had a monkey named Abu. Aladdin wanted to marry Jasmine and Jafar wanted to marry her, too. Aladdin broke Jafar's staff and made him become a genie. Aladdin got to marry Jasmine. Aladdin freed his genie and they lived happily ever after."-- Ricky RuszinOur Lady of Hope/St. Luke's School"'The Cat in the Cage and Other Great Stories for Kids' by Jerry D. Thomas is a collection of stories. One of my favorite stories in this book is 'Cat in a Cage' when the little girl was going to get food for her bird.

After school, children play in the streets of Aladdin Village Mobile Home Park near Jessup as they have for decades. But their shouts and laughter belie a quiet tension gripping many of the families living there. By summer, residents expect to get a letter that many of them dread, giving them the state-required, one-year notice that the 241-lot park will close for redevelopment and that they must move or lose their homes. With land values in Howard County soaring, park owners are looking toward more lucrative redevelopment, which is what county officials want along U.S. 1. But that also means the loss of the kind of traditional affordable housing that mobile homes represent.

To help lower-income working families, construction is starting on an $11 million, 84-unit apartment complex off U.S. 1 in Elkridge - the first new, subsidized units in the county in years. Called Port Capital Village, the eight-building complex will offer two- and three-bedroom units for rents ranging from $528 to $975 a month, based on income. The units are intended for families earning between $20,000 and $45,000 a year. The first units should be complete within a year. The complex is next to the 243-lot Aladdin Village mobile home park, north of Route 175, where residents are awaiting word on when their park will close for redevelopment.